


Could've Been Worse

by Kestrealbird



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Background characters - Freeform, Jack likes Rhys, Nisha Wilhelm and Angel are kinda there but, Other, Rhys as Jack's PA, Rhys likes his job, Vague understanding of Business, it's Jack someones gonna die, like one death, mostly in the background
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-02
Updated: 2018-02-02
Packaged: 2019-03-12 18:19:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13552941
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kestrealbird/pseuds/Kestrealbird
Summary: Saying anything against Angel is a guaranteed death sentence, and Rhys motions for the room to start packing up, impressed that half of them have already vacated their seats and fast walked out the door. Margarette doesn't stop there, though, and her eyes suddenly bore into Rhys with a sharp intensity that might have meant something if he actually considered her a threat. As it stands he mostly just finds her attention to be annoying.Jack straightens up in his chair, tilting his head as he regards her with unblinking eyes. “You got something wrong with my PA, Oliver?”A last name basis and a lack of endearments? Oh yeah she’s definitely fucked.





	Could've Been Worse

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fic for this fandom so I don't really know how good this is but I've fallen back into Rhack hell so I decided I may as well post this before all my self-indulgent bullshit you know? I was going to make this longer but I liked the way it ended

As far as meetings go it’s not the worse one that Rhys has ever seen. Jack’s in a particularly good mood today, so even though he’s still terrifying to the people trying to win his favour, he hasn’t actually  _ threatened _ any of them yet, and he’s mostly just listening to all of them in turn, only cutting them off when he wants to close his eyes and think for a moment. 

They should feel blessed, in Rhys’ opinion, because he’s seen Jack airlock someone for getting his coffee order wrong, so the fact that they’re still being allowed to stutter their way through this meeting is a feat in itself, really. Rhys doesn't actually  _ need _ to be here for this - its just a meeting to update Jack on some progress and try to convince him they’re worth keeping around - but Jack likes dragging him around everywhere simply because he  _ can _ and he’s a  _ dick _ .

Still, Rhys can't deny that working for Jack is interesting, even if it’s a pain in the ass sometimes. Fiona and Sasha are convinced that Jack is brainwashing him, and Vaughn’s got over a hundred fail safe plans in case Rhys needs to escape or something. As long as Yvette gets free lunches she doesn't really care about what Rhys gets up to. He isn’t blind, however, and knows damn well that she likes it when Wilhelm sticks around, and it’s the only time Rhys has ever seen her get tongue tied around someone, so he enjoys “accidentally” bumping into her whenever he and Wilhelm are doing something together. 

Nisha is...honestly there’s no real  _ definitive _ way to describe Nisha, let alone her relationship with Jack, but despite all her teasing and violent tendencies - it’s really no wonder she and Jack get along so damn well - Rhys can safely say that he does enjoy her company, now and again. He doesn't see Athena all that much - maybe once or twice a month if he’s lucky - but he finds her intimidating enough as it is, no matter how much Fiona tries to tell him that she’s really very sweet when she’s with her girlfriend, Janey.

The only reason Jack’s so damn patient and calm today is because Timothy and Angel are here for a visit, and he doesn't really like Angel seeing him hurt people. Timothy’s pretty used to it, being Jack’s younger brother by a couple of years, but Angel still retains some innocence about what her dad is like at work. There’s a lot of things Rhys respects about Jack, and his love for Angel is definitely at the top of that list. His taste in coffee, however, doesn't even get a passing sneer.

Out of all of Jack’s entourage, Rhys gets along with these two the best. Angel stayed in this meeting for the first couple of minutes before she got bored and left to pester Vaughn and Yvette, dragging a mildly disgruntled Nisha behind her and Timothy is halfway falling out of his chair, bored and tired but too respectful to leave. Rhys himself is leaning against the wall behind Jack, arms crossed over his chest as he keeps an eye out for Jack’s moods. He may not be able to stop Jack’s anger, but he  _ can _ give the room a warning and try to stop  _ them _ from tipping it off the edge. 

Most of the time they manage to read Rhys’ warnings, but there’s always the odd idiot or three who don't pick up on them or simply  _ choose _ to dig their own graves. 

One such idiot happens to be here right now, and Rhys has been praying that she keep her mouth shut, but the moment she stands up he knows, immediately, that something’s going to go wrong. She skips the safe zones altogether and goes straight to her own death sentence.

“I don't see why we need to go to such lengths to protect your  _ daughter _ -” the room practically freezes at her tone and even Rhys can’t help his own wince. Timothy is wide awake now, smartly looking straight at Jack whose eyes have turned coldly towards the woman speaking. Rhys sends a message to Janitorial, sighing as he pinches the bridge of his nose and waits for the click of Jack’s gun. “-business deals are more important than-”

“What’s your name?” The underlying threat in Jack’s tone is obvious, but the woman in front of them narrows her eyes and puffs out her chest in an effort to look far more important than she actually is. 

“Margarette,” she responds, “Margarette Oliver.” Timothy gives a low whistle at the same time that Rhys mutters “oh shit”. The only other Margarette Jack has ever met was Angel’s mother and anyone whose close to Jack knows just how badly that had turned out for everyone involved.

Saying anything against Angel is a guaranteed death sentence, and Rhys motions for the room to start packing up, impressed that half of them have already vacated their seats and fast walked out the door. Margarette doesn't stop there, though, and her eyes suddenly bore into Rhys with a sharp intensity that might have meant something if he actually considered her a threat. As it stands he mostly just finds her attention to be annoying.

Jack straightens up in his chair, tilting his head as he regards her with unblinking eyes. “You got something wrong with my PA, Oliver?”

A last name basis  _ and _ a lack of endearments? Oh yeah she’s definitely fucked.

“As CEO of this company you should have higher standards than  _ this _ .” 

Rhys barely holds back his own laughter, settling for an amused sort of smile instead. The meaning behind her words isn't lost to him, because there’s been rumours about him being Jack’s “personal play thing” since he got this position. It doesn't personally bother him, but Jack despises those kinds of notions. For one thing Rhys has never so much as  _ kissed _ Jack before, and even if he had that's not the reason he’s kept this job for so long.

Jack wouldn't keep someone around just for a good fuck; he values work ethics far more than he does someone’s sexual prowess.

“The reason that Rhys has kept this job is because he’s a damn fucking good PA, Oliver, not because he might or might not be sucking my dick.” Margarette doesn't hear Jack clicking the safety on his gun, but Rhys and Timothy do. 

She opens her mouth to try and say something else, but gets cut off by a bullet or two in her skull, and its with great timing that Janitorial enters the room and starts cleaning up before the blood can stain anything.

“Well,” Wilhelm says later, after Timothy does a dramatic retelling of the events to him and Nisha, “it could’ve been worse.” 

Nisha manages to nod around the whiskey she’s devouring. “Angel could’ve seen you,” she points out after finishing off her bottle.

Jack doesn't pay her any mind, too absorbed in the feeling of Rhys’ fingers combing through his hair and massaging his scalp to care about anything else. Everyone’s just a little bit fond of Rhys, though, even the people who are  _ meant _ to dislike him, and Jack’s not above using that to his advantage when he can. It helps that Rhys is apparently oblivious to this fact, so it makes it all the easier to keep him at Jack’s side, and maybe, if he plays his cards right, he’ll finally be able to get Rhys in bed with him. 


End file.
